A couple in their 60's, a 1940's army building turned into a 3 bedroom cottage, 2.5 acres, vegetable and herbal gardens, goats, chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, Great Pyrenees, rescue dogs and cats, living as simple and frugal as possible. That is what you will find written about here. Thank you for stopping by. Share anything you like and ask any questions you wish!

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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Sunny Day, Sweeping the clouds away.... Now that I have the Sesame Street tune locked in your head I will tell you about the sunny day at Hidden Haven.

While Buttons is taking a nap underneath one of the spools in the goat yard Frosty Gerda and Billy Bob are enjoying a nice nap on top of a goat house.

Hayley is trying to nap inside the goat house while watching her son Comet and his little friend Trouble. Trouble is actually asleep standing up like that.

Barbara Bush and her girls are enjoying a nap under the shade tree.

Tobacco (yes, she spits) has taken over the doghouse for the afternoon.

Precious decided to take her nap on top of the spool and leave Little D to nap below where she could keep an eye on her.

After having a very easy early morning delivery Michelle Obama is napping with her brand new baby girl off in a corner away from everyone in the shade.

Bonnie still doesn't have milk for her twin boys. She decided a couple of days ago to try to get rid of the weakest one by stomping on it. It sounds cruel but it was her way of maybe being able to have enough milk for one. The strong one.

She is being a wonderful mom to the strong one though I am bottle feeding him 4 times a day. I have the little white one in the house

. He has a broken rib and for 2 nights I slept with him on my chest so I could hear him breathe. I could tell when he was in pain and give him something and I could also feed him a few drops with a medicine dropper as he was too weak to nurse a bottle. Today he is still not able to stand but is stronger. He is back to pooping and peeing which he hadn't done for 2 days. He is still nursing from a medicine dropper but hopefully by tomorrow he will be able to go back on a bottle. I know he probably will be like Lester and not live long and most farmers would have just let the mom finish him off or done so themselves. I am not like most farmers. I believe if a animal fights to stay alive and doesn't want to give up then I should do everything I can to help. I won't let one stay alive and just suffer but if I can ease its pain and there is a ounce of hope it should have a chance. The first night I didn't do much but make it comfortable as possible because I really thought it was going to die any second. William and I both shed tears and said a lot of prayers throughout the night. It was gasping for air and couldn't drink anything. By daylight I knew it was a fighter so started giving it vitamin shots, antibiotics, electrolytes, and herbal pain medication. It is breathing 90% better today and though still weak is gaining strength every day. Haven't named the little one yet but will soon. His owner doesn't want to waste the time or care on him so he will stay out his days here at Hidden Haven. Trying not to get my heart wrapped up in him like I did Lester but I believe its too late. When you say your prayers tonight please say a little one for this little one.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

I received a very special gift from my "adopted" Sis over at Pea's Corner this past weekend. She wanted to send it for my birthday but I was lax in getting the correct addy to her. Sis I absolutely love it! This is really my favorite Willow Tree piece so far! This piece has her holding a cat and is titled "With Affection , I love our friendship". It is perfect Sis! I love our special sisterhood friendship and I love the special gift you chose for me.
Pea doesn't have any sisters and my only sister passed away in 1976 so we adopted each other. I am the blessed one as she is the best Sis anyone could ask for! Thank you again Sis and I love you to the moon and beyond!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

BeeBee as I like to call her since I am such a close friend is a wonderful mother. She watches over her girls like a hawk. No one or nothing can get near her babies without going thru her. When the babies were born Bella and Tinker went to have a sniff. They always sniff the new babies so they will know their scent and protect them. Well BeeBee would have none of that. She stood her ground and snorted at Bella. Bella backed up one step and showed her teeth to let BeeBee know she would not bother the babies but she wasn't afraid of her. Tinker being the big as a horse puppy she is went to have her sniff and when BeeBee snorted Tinker barked and started chasing her away. BeeBee head butted Tinker. I ended up separating the two of them. BeeBee was in the stall with her babies and Tinker was in the other goat pen but they both were still mad. BeeBee would stomp her foot and snort while glaring at Tinker. Tinker sitting behind the fence would stare at BeeBee and growl. Barbar Bush believes in taking care of her own babies with no outside help.
Hillary Clinton really believes in it takes a village to raise a kid. She leaves the bottle feeding to me and lets everyone else watch her babies during the day. She will put them to bed at night and then go lay outside the stall to keep an eye on them. Today when I took their picture the boys were napping in their stall.

Bella was babysitting by staying right outside the door.

Hillary was off having a afternoon snack and chatting with the other girls.

She believes in loving her babies but having all the outside help she can get.

Me? I am looking forward to these two ladies going home to their farm with their darling babies.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Saturday at least two tornado's hit Fayetteville. We were very blessed they didn't drop down at Hidden Haven. We had the tree branches spinning in the wind and the usual limbs falling and things blowing around.We lost power but it came back on later that evening. My friend Gerda lives in a neighborhood that got hit hard. Thank goodness she and her home are okay. We tried to get to her right after the tornado but didn't make it. First trying to drive in and was turned around because of all the power lines down. We park and try to walk on only to be turned around every street we tried to walk down. Seeing the homes that were destroyed or damaged was awful.

Seeing the people standing in front of their homes in shock was so sad. Gerda was alone, upset and without power. She was worried about everyone but herself. We talked with her several times by cellphone and promised to try again the next day to get to her. The next morning I fixed her a breakfast sandwich and thermos of coffee for William to take to her. They were letting people walk in but it was a long distance from where you had to park. I stayed home and cleaned up the yard and pens. Good ole Gerda was doing great without power. She had the burner on her grill going cooking a big pot of chicken and rice which she shared with William, her son, and grandson that showed up at the same time. Here we all have power and she is cooking and feeding everyone! Once she knew everyone was okay she was ready to campout at her home without power. She refused to come here or go to her son's. I understand though. There is no place like home no matter what the conditions. Things are really a mess all over the city. I have never seen so much damage, even from a hurricane as I have from this.

It will take a long time to clean up, repair, or rebuild but everyone is helping each other. Today William and Gerda's grandson are cutting up and removing trees that have fallen on or into peoples homes. They are going to help as much as they can for the next week or so. There are many others there helping as well. Until today they were all strangers but a tornado has made them friends. I would love to be there helping clean up Gerda's yard but am doing all the homestead chores to free William. He is much better with a chainsaw than me. LOL And I am having to bottle feed the little boy goats born the other day. The mama doesn't have but a few drops of milk. I feed them 4 times a day and they try nursing her the rest of the time. I finally named her Hillary Clinton since I have a Barbara Bush, which by the way gave birth to twin girls during the tornado. Barbara hates Hillary (must be a political thing) and keeps reaching thru the boards dividing the stalls and biting her ears. Hillary just moves to the other side of her stall and Barbara gets mad and stomps her feet and snorts. Must say even in stressful times there is always something to bring a smile to your face around here. I will post photos of Barbara and the babies tomorrow. Have a wonderful evening and count those blessings!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Well I should have know when I made a to do list for today it wouldn't work. I had all these things planned to get done outside and it was another sunny but not hot day, which was perfect for outdoor chores. I came inside to get something to drink and get the scrap bucket when I heard a goat cry over the monitor. Now there are always goats crying over the monitor so I kinda tune them out. They are crying because its feeding time, the babies are crying because they lost their mom, Bonnie is crying because she lost Trouble for the 100 time of the day, etc. I know from the cry what is wrong and if I need to go out to the pen. Well this cry was a labor cry and I run out the door. It was a little white goat that Williams friend had brought a week or so ago along with 4 other pregnant goats. He purchased them at a sale and has no idea what they are bred to or even a clue as how close they are to kidding. This little thing didn't even look pregnant but there she was laying on the ground in the middle of the goat pen. She had no idea what was happening to her. Got her up and walked her into a stall and got her settled down. Got the birthing kit and just settled down to wait and see. After 15 minutes her water broke so I knew it wouldn't be long. She was one scared little goat but really did very well. Another 15 minutes pass and though she is pushing nothing is happening. I glove up and have a little feel to see what is going on. Feel the feet so sit back and wait again. She pushes and the sac the baby is in breaks so I reach for the feet to help the baby get out before it tries to breathe and inhales fluid. The feet (which are long) come out fine but the head is way too big for this little goat. Use my finger to circle around the cervix to dilate more and keep pulling as she pushes. I finally had to get William to come pull the baby while I held the goat. It was a rough delivery for the little one. Got this bucklings airway cleared and made sure he was breathing when she started pushing with the next one. Same thing again. Baby goats head too big for little goat. William pulls and I hold. Little one (will have to name her as her owner never names any of them) is exhausted but happy to have her 2 little boys. I clean babies and mom up, get her some warm molasses water, hay and grain and let her rest a few minutes. Then I go back to get the little bucklings to nurse. Mom's teats are so tiny they had a hard time nursing. I kept going back every few minutes until after about an hour they got the hang of it and nursed on their own. Mom and boys are clean, fed, warm, and happy at the moment and I will try to finish my to do list tomorrow.... I hope!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Today was sunny but cool so I enjoyed working outside. Most of my day was spent working in the herb garden but I am not quite ready to post photos yet. This photo is the little garden area beside the well house. I have a old farmers sink for a water garden that I set up last year. Cleaned it out and it is working great. The flower pots in the stand have chocolate mint and boy does it smell wonderful. Have a wren building a nest in the birdhouse. The fern was bought a couple weeks ago off the clearance rack for $4. It was almost dead but a little TLC has it growing and looking beautiful. Trouble is still being Trouble and giving his mom a hard time. I still go out and find him for her but thank goodness he has started going back to the same hiding spots so it doesn't take very long to find and give him back to his mom. I still have 5 goats to play midwife to and am hoping they all kid soon. Looking forward to going back to just my little goat family. Bella and Tinker had a couple weeks back on their runners for digging out of the fence. Tinker came inside the house and Bella didn't make it that far before she heard Tinker getting scolded. She hightailed it back under the fence and was waiting by the gate when I took Tinker back. I took them off the runners yesterday and so far so good. I have been walking them around the fence and telling them no so will see if its working. My friend has been giving me produce from the produce stand so that has kept me busy, plus the animals love all the fresh veggies and fruit every day. Just everyday things going on here at the homestead. Busy but peaceful so I can't complain. Hope you are having a wonderful week and don't forget to count those blessings!

Monday, April 11, 2011

has decided to start blogging! She has also opened a etsy shop! Mary is so very talented and always finding new, wonderful projects to create. I hope you will stop by her blog and welcome her to the blogging neighborhood and pop into her shop often as she will be adding goodies almost every day. Mary left Vermont in December and moved all the way to South Dakota. She not only is getting settled into a new life in a new state she is quilting, sewing, cooking, and crafting away. Love you Mary and can't wait to see what you will be putting in your shop next!

This is Bonnie. She is a dwarf goat that has been staying here until she kidded. Well she had a beautiful black buckling with a white star on his head that I named David. He was born 4 days ago and from the time he was a couple hours old he was trouble for his mom and me thus the name change to Trouble. He loves to wander off and find a place to nap. He naps so hard he doesn't hear his mom calling for him so she gets upset and starts running everywhere crying. I hear her crying and go look for her baby. The first day I found him in the doghouse, then he went thru the fence and took a nap in a black garden pot. He is black, garden pot was black so that took a lot of time to find him. The next day found him under the dog house, in the turkey pen (haven't figured out how he got in there as it has chicken wire he can't squeeze thru), and back in the garden pot. Since then he has been in the hay barn, under the feeding table, inside a 5 gallon bucket or his favorite under the wheelbarrel.

I have spent most of my time finding him for Bonnie. We talked about putting a bell on him but the problem is he finds a spot to nap and doesn't move nor answer his mom when she is calling for him. When he goes home in a few days he is going to have tons more places to find to nap. Going to be one upset Bonnie until Troubles gets a little bigger and can't go thru the fence.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

For all the sweet, caring, and sincere comments, emails, and messages. It means alot knowing there are others who understand my being upset over losing a goat. Yes, Lester was a goat but he was also so much more. When he got pneumonia a day after he was born I was hoping he would get well quickly and go back to his mom and brother. When his immune system never got stronger and he kept catching colds I knew he would never be with the other goats and would be my little Lester. When he didn't grow even though he ate and drank really well I knew he wouldn't live to be a old goat. When he started getting out of breath when he ran ( for him it was a fast walk) or got tired following me around the house I knew he didn't have a long life ahead. When he just wanted to be held last Friday and wanted me right there with him every minute I knew he knew his time was growing short. I sat and rocked him most of the day. I cuddled him close and tried to talk him into hanging on and being strong so he could make it. When his little heart beat got weaker I knew it was time to say goodbye. I held him close as I rocked him. I whispered stories of the special Hidden Haven animals waiting on the other side of the bridge for him. I whispered to him about a very special lady named Ms. Fran who I knew would be there to watch over him. I sang his special bedtime songs to him. I rocked and cried and told my special friend goodbye. He raised his head, gave me a smile and took his last breath. Lester is buried in a very special spot in my herb garden. Where he napped in the sun or followed me around while I worked. We spent many hours there and now I have a special place to sit in the herb garden to talk to Lester. To tell him stories about the animals here, to tell him how I miss and love him. A place just to sit and enjoy the precious memories of a very special, precious little goat that stole my heart.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

I just can't bring myself to write about Little Lester's last day and his goodbye smile for me. Just wanted you to know Lester passed away yesterday evening peacefully. I never knew I could have my heart wrapped up so much in one tiny little goat. I will be back in a few days with his story. Goodbye my sweet little one.